


The Inquisition Has Scars

by caitirin



Series: The Chronicles of Teithranen Lavellan: Plant-Obsessed Soft-Hearted Inquisitor [19]
Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Childhood Memories, Cuddling, Cute, Discussion of Violence, Dorian Pavus Has Issues, Falling In Love, Fluff, Halward Pavus' A+ Parenting, Kissing, M/M, Mild Angst, Romance, Scars, Snuggling, body acceptance, discussion of blood magic, short and sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-23
Updated: 2018-05-23
Packaged: 2019-05-12 22:58:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14737403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caitirin/pseuds/caitirin
Summary: Dorian notices scars on the Inquisitor's fingers and asks about them.---Dorian nodded, impressed.  “That was insane.  I’m amazed you walked away from it.  Catching wild lightning like that is not something most people can do.  Nor should they.  You don’t still do that, do you?”Tei laughed sheepishly.  “Well, not a lot.  And not the big ones, normally.  But as long as I’ve done my barrier quite right, it’s sort of fun from time to time.  You can give people static shocks for hours afterwards.”Dorian snorted.  “Only you would tame a wild force of destruction and then just use it for amusement.  You’re quite the character, Tei.”“So Varric keeps telling me.  I can’t wait to see what I’m like in the book he’s going to eventually write.”





	The Inquisition Has Scars

**Author's Note:**

> My Inquisitor's name is Teithranen Lavellan (Tei). He's a storm and rift mage.

Tei stretched, lengthening his spine, arching away from the mattress as he pressed his arms over his head. He flexed his shoulders before laying back against the pillows.  Dorian admired the way the first light of the day illuminated the pale-colored vallaslin that marked Tei’s face and chest. He captured one of Tei’s languid hands and pressed kisses to each of his knuckles in turn.  Tei murmured happily and curved his body towards Dorian, laying on his side again.

Dorian massaged Tei’s hand.  Tei’s previous evening had been mostly spending reading Inquisition reports and requisitions and signing an entire pile of letters that Josephine had written for him.  His hands were stiff, both the one with the anchor and his writing hand. Dorian liked to be able to help Tei unwind again, to watch his tense expression loosen into soft contentment.  He pressed his thumbs into the suppleness of Tei’s palm. He could feel the callouses where Tei gripped his staff, similar to his own, now familiar. Tei sighed and made encouraging sounds.  

Dorian examined Tei’s hands.  There were some very faint, light-colored scar lines on his long fingers.  Dorian found three of them along Tei’s index finger. They were nearly invisible, but close examination showed them wrapping around his fingers.  “Where did you get these scars, Amatus?” Dorian ran his fingers over them. They didn’t feel any different than the rest of his skin.

Tei brought his hand closer to his face so he could see what Dorian was asking about.  “Oh, those?” He rubbed his thumb over them. “I got those when my magic first came in.  My brother and I were out in the woods gathering prophet’s laurel when we got caught in a lightning storm.  It was one of those sudden summer ones, lightning and thunder everywhere. We were trying to find somewhere we could get low and wait it out when a bolt of lightning came right for us.  I don’t even remember doing it, really, but my brother said I just whipped around and grabbed the lightning bolt right out of the sky before it hit us. Apparently I held it in my hands for a few seconds before I guess I realized what I was doing, then I screamed and tried to throw it and it exploded and knocked me flat on my ass.”  Tei chuckled. “It burned my hands, but other than that I was fine. These tiny scars are all that was left from it. My Keeper started teaching me magic the next day, in case I got any more foolish ideas about catching lightning again.”

Dorian nodded, impressed.  “That was insane. I’m amazed you walked away from it.  Catching wild lightning like that is not something most people can do.  Nor should they. You don’t still do that, do you?”

Tei laughed sheepishly.  “Well, not a lot. And not the big ones, normally.  But as long as I’ve done my barrier quite right, it’s sort of fun from time to time.  You can give people static shocks for hours afterwards.”

Dorian snorted.  “Only you would tame a wild force of destruction and then just use it for amusement.  You’re quite the character, Tei.”

“So Varric keeps telling me.  I can’t wait to see what I’m like in the book he’s going to eventually write.”

Dorian traced his fingers up Tei’s arm and under his chin.  “What about this one?” He touched a scar under Tei’s chin.

Tei touched it, evoking the sense memory.  “That was a stray chip from a dagger that snapped.  I was carving a wooden knife handle and the knife I was using snapped in half when I accidentally struck a stone.  It cut me under the chin and bled everywhere.” He looked a little guilty. “Scared my mother to  _ death _ when I walked in covered in blood all down my shirt.  She thought someone had tried to slit my throat.”

“I know that feeling.”  Dorian said. He’d seen Tei covered in blood more times than he’d ever wanted to.  He’d been working on improving his barrier spells ever since he’d met the Inquisitor, just in the hopes of never seeing him fall again.  “Your poor mother.”

“Yeah, my brother and I put her through the wringer.  Him more than me, but still.” Tei pulled up his knee.  “And this one I got when my brother pushed me out of a tree.”  Tei indicated a jagged scar that went across his left knee. It was the biggest of all of them.  

“Why, pray tell, did he push you out of the tree?”  Dorian asked. He touched Tei’s knee. It looked like it had been a large wound when it was fresh.

“Probably because I bit him.”  Tei said with a grin.

“You  _ what?”   _ Dorian sputtered.  “I knew it! I knew you were secretly a bunch of savages.”

Tei shrugged.  “He was teasing me about...  _ something _ .  I forget what.  He had it coming.”  Tei chuckled at Dorian’s skeptical expression.  “Trust me, if you had siblings you’d understand.  They always have it coming.” Tei looked Dorian over.  “How come you don’t have any scars? I can’t imagine you never got into scapes when you were a boy.”  

Dorian laughed quietly.  “Oh, I got into my share of trouble.  I should have at least as many as you.”  He looked at Tei, laying next to him. “We don’t have scars in Tevinter.  At least not in a magister’s family. It would ruin that perfect, pristine image, you see.”  Dorian’s eyes focused somewhere past where Tei was laying. He absently ran his fingers over his chest.

Tei watched Dorian’s expression change subtly as his thoughts wandered.  He reached out and caught Dorian’s hand. “Are you okay? Sorry if I touched on a sensitive subject.”

Dorian came back.  He smiled down at Tei.  “This is where it would have been.”  He indicated the place directly over his heart.  “If I’d let the blood magic ritual cuts make a scar.”

Tei touched Dorian’s chest.  “What actually happened?” If he pressed his ear to the spot he’d have felt Dorian’s heartbeat.  He’d fallen asleep plenty of times laying on Dorian’s chest, hearing that soothing constant rhythm and feeling the gentle rise and fall of Dorian’s breathing.  

Dorian sighed.

“We don’t have to talk about it, if you don’t want to.  It’s okay. I understand.” Tei didn’t want to press.

“No, it’s all right.  It probably would be good to talk about it.”  Dorian paused. “He drugged me. My father. Of course, at the time I was drinking so much he might not even have needed to.  I woke up tied to this table with some magister I didn’t even know carving into my chest. I suppose I got lucky and my father mixed up the dosing.  They’d counted on my staying out and hadn’t thought to use magical restraints. I was able to free myself before they’d begun casting the ritual. I grabbed my things and ran.  Left blood all down the hallways of our house because the cuts were so deep.” The way Dorian said it was very blasé, but they way he wouldn’t meet Tei’s eyes spoke louder than words.

“I’m sorry.”  Tei said, he kissed Dorian’s chest.  “I didn’t realize.”

Dorian cleared his throat.  “Anyway, I spent an exorbitant amount at a healers, ensuring there’d be no physical reminders.  Still perfect.” He almost spat the word.

“I think I prefer my scars, the physical ones.  Yours hurt more.” Tei said.

“What?”  Dorian refocused on him.

“You do have scars; yours are just hidden on the inside.  And they still hurt. Mine are healed, just marks on my skin.  Yours are still bleeding. You just can’t see it.”

“Ugh.”  Dorian leaned his cheek on the top of Tei’s head so he could avoid Tei seeing his expression.  “It’s far too early for so many...  _ feelings _ .”

“Sorry.  If it helps, I think you’re perfect.  Scars and all.” Tei wiggled out from under Dorian’s chin so he could see him and then kiss him.  

Dorian ran his hands up and down Tei’s back, resting one hand comfortably on Tei’s shapely rear.  The other he slid under Tei’s head, curling him closer. He grumbled in response to Tei’s sugary-sweet admission of his feelings.  “You’re too good, Amatus.”

“You deserve ‘too good’, Dorian.”

Even with all his intelligence and sarcasm, Dorian couldn’t think of a single witty response in that moment.  He just pulled Tei close to his chest and held him there. “The things you say.”


End file.
